Favorite Minecraft Books

Believe it or not, games like Minecraft motivate kids to read. To learn to play the game, they’re reading Minecraft forums and books. And, there are new fiction books about Minecraft adventures that kids are reading as well.

In a WIRED article, Clive Thompson explains, “Minecraft is surrounded by a culture of literacy. The game comes with minimal instructions or tutorials, so new players immediately set about hunting for info on how it works. That means . . . poring over how-to texts at Minecraft wikis and “walk-through” sites, written by gamers for gamers. Or digging into printed manuals like The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft or the official Minecraft Redstone Handbook.”

After a recent trip to the bookstore for a few Minecraft books for my kids, I thought I’d tell you some of the top Minecraft books you could buy for your own kids. (Maybe for Christmas or anytime gifts?) Because reading is reading, right?!

Some of these books are guides (non-fiction), and others are novels (fiction) and activity books.

Favorite Minecraft Books

Diary of a Minecraft Zombie Book 1: A Scare of a Dareby Herobrine Books (SERIES) (ages 6 – 10) Short sentences with witty observations on life from the perspective of a Minecraft zombie that will crack you up. I was surprised to say the least that this was such an entertaining, funny read. Nothing scary. Just fun. Especially for Minecraft enthusiasts. (These are FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers!)

Trayaurus and the Enchanted Crystalby Dan TDM, illustrated by Doreen Mulryan This is a graphic novel from DanTDM, a Minecraft YouTuber. JJ didn’t love it but it gets good reviews so it’s worth considering. The story is about DanTDM and Trayaurus finding powerful crystals that can be used for good or evil so it’s a big problem that Denton, their archenemy, has also found a shard!

The Invasion of the Overworld by Mark Cheverton Gameknight999 loved ruining the game for other players (called griefing) until his father’s invention teleports him into the game. Now he’s worried what will happen if he’s killed in Minecraft – will he respawn? And he learns that the creatures in the game are really alive and he’ll have to start working with others to survive. My daughter thinks this is the best Minecraft chapter book series for kids. What do you think?

Stampy’s Lovely Book by Stampy (Joseph Garrett) Popular on YouTube, now there’s an official Stampy book with info, games, jokes, activities and comics. This will keep Minecraft addicts engaged for hours!

Diary of an 8-Bit Warriorby Cube Kid, illustrated by Saboten Runt is a 12-year old with real problems. He doesn’t want to be a typical villager with the typical boring life. He wants to be a warrior like Steve. So he’s excited when his school finally agrees that the villagers might need warriors to fight back against the nightly attacks. When Steve loses everything and moves in with Runt’s family, Runt hopes that Steve will help with warrior training. But it’s a guy named Mike whose in the village jail that helps because Steve is too depressed. Runt’s a relatable, mostly serious, character who just wants a different life — like most kids his age and is competing for a dream opportunity. A fantastic Minecraft book with illustrations!

The Ultimate Player’s Guide to Minecraft by Stephen O’Brien Learn combat traps and tricks, how to customize, dealing with hostile mobs, brewing potions, shelters, new worlds, rail systems, LAN games, and a lot more including using the app.

Minecraft Redstone Handbook by Scholastic Redstone is a complex area of Minecraft where you need to know about mining, smelting, using repeaters, circuit components and circuit designs. Read tips from the game creator Notch and get ideas for amazing Redstone creations.

Minecraft Book of House Design by Minecraft In this book, you’ll learn building techniques and designs (think mansions, castles, villas, and high-tech houses) in Minecraft with secrets and features you never knew about.

Minecraft Combat by Scholastic The official Minecraft combat handbook will show you how to defend yourself from monsters and other players as well as set mob traps, battle out of the Nether and the End and craft weapons.

Minecraft Adventures: Herobrine Risesby S.D. Stuart and Steve DeWinter (fiction) Twins Josh and Andre play Minecraft in their dad’s virtual reality lab. They hack into a password protected server created by Notch and can’t believe what they find. First in the series. The 2nd is: The Portal. Well-rated and GREAT for reluctant readers who love Minecraft!

Minecraft Zombie Escape by Best Minecraft Novels (fiction) When a player is attacked by zombies, he becomes a zombie himself. Now he searches for answers to see if he can become human again and tries not to get killed.

The Amazing Tale of Steve by Minecraft Novel (fiction) In thie book, a young, inexperienced, silly undergod named Steve becomes the deciding factor in a full-scale Minecraft war.